The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (July 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$2,847.2 billion as at June 30, 2013, HK$37.9 billion lower than that at the end of May 2013. Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$18.0 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$19.9 billion.

The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to valuation losses on foreign currency investments, which was partly offset by an increase in assets connected with the issuance of additional Certificates of Indebtedness. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to fiscal drawdowns and valuation losses on Hong Kong equities. These decreases were partly offset by additional placements received from HKSAR government funds and statutory bodies.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of June 2013 was HK$1,237.6 billion, increased by HK$5.2 billion, or 0.4%, from the end of May 2013. The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$1.2 billion, or 0.1%, to HK$1,332.4 billion. The rise was mainly attributable to an increase in assets connected with the issuance of additional Certificates of Indebtedness, which was largely offset by revaluation losses. The backing ratio decreased from 108.02% at the end of May 2013 to 107.66% at the end of June 2013.

**************************************************** At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of July 2013, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: